South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler reportedly lashed out at Sarah Palin Wednesday, saying the Republican vice presidential candidate’s “primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.”

Politico.com reports that Fowler, wife of former Democratic National Committee Chairman Don Fowler, said that John McCain’s decision to choose an abortion rights opponent would not boost his candidacy among many women.

“Among Democratic women and even among independent women, I don’t think it helped him,” she told Politico.com.

Palin — a self-described “hockey mom” and mother of five children — gave birth April 18 to her youngest child, Trig, who is diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Appearing on FOX News Wednesday, McCain campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbacker called Fowler’s statement “despicable” and “sad,” and said voters from all parties should be happy Palin is McCain’s running mate.

Her candidacy is, “a historic moment for this country,” Hazelbacker said of Palin.

Fowler issued an apology Wednesday evening.

“I personally admire and respect the difficult choices that women make everyday, and I apologize to anyone who finds my comment offensive,” she said in a written statement. “I clumsily was making a point about people in South Carolina who may vote based on a single issue. Whether it’s the environment, the economy, the war or a woman’s right to choose, there are people who will cast their vote based on a single issue. That was the only point I was attempting to make.”

Don Fowler last week was forced to apologize after being captured on an amateur video during an airplane flight chuckling while saying, “Hurricane (Gustav) is going to hit New Orleans about the time (the Republican National Convention) starts. … That just demonstrates God is on our side.”

Click here to read more from Politico.com.

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No Responses to “SC Democratic Chair: Palin’s Chief Qualification is She ‘Hasn’t Had an Abortion’”

SBK

09-10-2008, 06:13 PM

Because all women are of course pro choice. Duh.

Baby Lee

09-10-2008, 06:41 PM

It's not just that she didn't have an abortion, she bore a child with Down's syndrome.
The issue of abortion as a whole aside, I have a bit of a weak spot on the issue of abortion and Down's syndrome. Fetuses identified as having Down's syndrome are aborted at a rate of 90%. 9 out of 10. And while I recognize that it is an increased burden caring for such a child, I have fond memories of many childhood interactions with children with Down's syndrome, there were some in my school [in special ed, of course], some regularly attended our church camp, and there was one in the neighborhood. And while they might have wanted for intelligence, they were empathetic, upbeat and affectionate to the person. A lot of what I possess in empathy I can trace back to their disposition and my reaction to those who would make fun of or belittle them. This was reinforced by the cousin of my father's who while wildly intelligent, dealt with cerebral palsy to a nearly unheard of age of his late 40s, and our conversations, while faltering and sometimes frustrating, which never failed to reveal his wit, and our games of chess that spurred my sense of wonder.
And through the dual facts of the right to abortion and advanced screening processes, these flawed but beautiful people will one day cease to exist.

NewChief

09-10-2008, 06:46 PM

I saw some bitch off the View on LKL last night. The idiotic mouths on the Left need to watch what they say in this campaign. The chick off the view came off as the perfect out of touch, liberal elitist as she decried the environmental impact of hunting (probably buys all her meat from a farm factory) and basically came across as a patronizing wench.

NewChief

09-10-2008, 06:48 PM

And through the dual facts of the right to abortion and advanced screening processes, these flawed but beautiful people will one day cease to exist.

I think that's taking things a bit far. There will always be people who choose to bear the child to term, regardless. Otherwise, I agree with much of your sentiment, and my own experiences echo your own.

'Hamas' Jenkins

09-10-2008, 06:51 PM

I saw some bitch off the View on LKL last night. The idiotic mouths on the Left need to watch what they say in this campaign. The chick off the view came off as the perfect out of touch, liberal elitist as she decried the environmental impact of hunting (probably buys all her meat from a farm factory) and basically came across as a patronizing wench.

I hate the f*cking View, much like I'm sure many paleo-cons despise Sean Hannity.

Baby Lee

09-10-2008, 06:51 PM

I think that's taking things a bit far. There will always be people who choose to bear the child to term, regardless. Otherwise, I agree with much of your sentiment, and my own experiences echo your own.

I'm just saying, 9/10, 5,500 children with Down's syndrome born last year, total.

NewChief

09-10-2008, 06:55 PM

I'm just saying, 9/10, 5,500 children with Down's syndrome born last year, total.

That's a pretty astounding statistic, I agree, especially considering that my youngest son has two Down's kids in his preschool class of 8 or so.

Baby Lee

09-10-2008, 07:02 PM

That's a pretty astounding statistic, I agree, especially considering that my youngest son has two Down's kids in his preschool class of 8 or so.

Cards on the table, I'm relying on the veracity of Michael Gerson's research. But it jibes with my recollections of an NPR piece on the issue in the past year.

Of the cases of Down syndrome diagnosed by prenatal testing each year, about 90 percent are eliminated by abortion. Last year the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended universal, early testing for Down syndrome -- not just for older pregnant women. Some expect this increased screening to reduce the number of Down syndrome births to something far lower than the 5,500 we see today, perhaps to fewer than 1,000.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR2008090902519.html

'Hamas' Jenkins

09-10-2008, 07:10 PM

Cards on the table, I'm relying on the veracity of Michael Gerson's research. But it jibes with my recollections of an NPR piece on the issue in the past year.

Crazy, especially because AFAIK, there is no 100% accurate test for Down's other than drawing amniotic fluid, which is hazardous to the fetus in the first place. We had positives on both of our boys preliminary tests (obviously we didn't abort), and neither has Down's, though one does have a genetic abnormality that's caused some developmental delays and could potentially have long term health effects. That being said, the chance of them having Down's wasn't high from the tests that we did. I suppose we could have gone with drawing the amniotic fluid, but it really wasn't worth the risk to us.